Kimberly Caldwell

I've always enjoyed jingles, you know, those catchy commercial tunes that get in your head and never leave. "Two all beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles, onions on a sesame seed bun." See, after all these years, it's still there. I wonder if Gene Simmons would have liked that McDonald's jingle?

We'll soon find out what the Kiss star likes in musical commercial craftsmanship because Gene Simmons has been tapped as one of the judges on the CBS reality show Jingles. It's a competition show, from producer Mark Burnett, he of Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader, Survivor and The Apprentice fame. We'll just forget about the ones that didn't fly, like On the Lot (that was painful to watch), Pirate Master (unwatchable) and Rock Star: INXS (truly a train wreck).

Jingles should be pretty challenging for contestants; it's hard to fake it when it comes to writing words and lyrics. The winner gets a contract with an advertising agency and $100,000.

Welcome back to "AI Aftermath," where we explore Idol's past. Each week, as one more American Idol hopeful is eliminated from the competition, we take a look back at contestants past who were eliminated in the same week. We'll examine how they did on the show and what they've been up to since their eliminations. In honor of Kristy Lee Cook's elimination last week we'll be looking at other seventh place finishers.

Justin Guarini is the new co-host of TV Guide Channel's Idol Tonight. You remember him, right? He's the lovable guy with the cute curls that sometimes stray into Sideshow Bob territory, who was no match for Kelly Clarkson during the finals of the first season of American Idol. Guarini is currently working on this third album, which he describes as "soul-funk" and he has a role in an indie film.

He'll share hosting duties with season three Idol contestant Kimberly Caldwell and WB's Popstar winner Rosanna Tavarez. TV Guide has renewed Idol Tonight for a second season, which starts airing in March once the contestants are narrowed down to twelve people.

I've caught Idol Tonight a few times and I only find the season one retrospectives to be interesting because that's when the contestants really didn't know what they were in for. Plus, Kelly Clarkson without make-up!

Thanks to My Super Sweet Sixteen, we all now know that no party is complete without a surprise, private performance by a pop idol. Fortunately, the cast of American Idol is more than willing to shill themselves out for your next shindig. Their asking prices, however, range from $300,000 for Kelly Clarkson to $2,000 and change for second season finalist Kimberly Caldwell.

The New York Post has kindly given us a run-down of Idol artist fees. Whether you pay $75,000 for Ruben Studdard or $30,000 is going to depend on how well you're connected within the entertainment industry, but is $75,000 too much to ask for your guests to hear "Sorry 2004" live? You can also expect to pay more for an Idol mini-concert versus an Idol meet-and-greet.